\paperw8640 \margr0\margl0\ATXph0 \plain \fs20 \f1 Personal computers that interact with televisions are on the horizon, thanks to the early delivery of key technologies from M
icrosoft.\par
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Building on its Simply Interactive PC (SIPC) initiative, announced by Bill Gates in April last year, Microsoft has released an SDK (Software Developers Kit) to more than 50 companies in the PC, consumer electronics and television fie
lds.\par
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The SDK will enable PCs to receive television programmes, data services and new forms of entertainment in the future. Within the SDK, Microsoft has also built the technical framework for delivering a Windows interface to large-screen disp
lay devices, such as monitors or TV screens. \par
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Thanks to the SDK, future TVs will have access to the Internet, future PCs will receive TV broadcasts, and future PC users will subscribe to software, periodicals, news and entertainment over the N
et using secure, billable transaction software. \par
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Companies that have requested the SDK from Microsoft include AST, Compaq, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Sharp, Sony, Sanyo, NBC, IBM and Hitachi. \par
For more information on Microsoft's broadcast plans, p
oint your Web browser at \ATXul1033 \cf9 \ATXht17 www.microsoft.com/windows/roadsvs.htm/ \ATXul0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \par